This
is volume 6 of the ‘Robert Craft Collection’, and one which
will justifiably be snapped up by all fans and collectors
of this excellent edition. Naxos projects of this nature
more often than not go beyond just clever marketing these
days, bringing us gently through musically verdant but thoroughly
completist paths, the fruits of which bear lesser-known works
which are placed alongside core repertoire to tempt the casual
buyer. Compared with the 1991 Sony ‘Igor Stravinsky Edition’ in
which all of his sometimes hard to digest sacred works were
dumped together in one box, Naxos offer the prize of the Symphony
of Psalms as a reward for surviving some of these less
overtly popular but ultimately rather appealing other choral
works.

The
opening choruses are a capella works which use Slavonic
texts, and were intended for use in the liturgy of the Russian
Orthodox Church, which forbids the use of musical instruments.
All of them have a compact and deceptively simple character,
a little like Poulenc’s ‘Motets’, using chant and antique
modes to carry the traditional texts. Like the recordings
Stravinsky conducted in the mid 1960s, the singers are quite
closely miked, but with impeccable intonation there is no
cause for concern. Craft is considerably brisker than Stravinsky
himself, gaining a little in raw energy and accuracy of ensemble
where the earlier recordings have a little more dynamic variety.

These
little gems are beautifully sung, and the high standard of
the Gregg Smith Singers carries on into the Mass almost
unscathed. It is of course a deeply ingrained part of this
group’s repertoire, their 1960 incarnation having also recorded
this work with Stravinsky. This earlier recording is of course
an important source. While Craft has the benefit of better
tuned bass notes in the opening of the Kyrie there
is in fact little to choose between the two versions – the
timings are fairly similar for one thing. The new recording
is however smoother, Stravinsky’s own possessing a different
kind of restrained eloquence. On average, Craft’s soloists
are easier on the ear, his winds warmer and a touch more
accurate. Stravinsky plays more with the internal dynamics
of the music, drawing a more personal and moving character
from this, one of his most personal statements. There are
some grimly out of tune entries in the historic recording
however, and Craft’s beautifully disciplined forces win in
the end – certainly for repeated listening.

Unlike
the previous two works, the Cantata is in fact secular.
Referring once again to Stravinsky’s 1965-6 recording one
is immediately struck by the close microphone placements
of the earlier version - it’s as if singers and musicians
are sitting or standing right in front of you, which is an
interesting, if not entirely comfortable experience. Craft’s
forces are placed more realistically, at a respectful distance
from the listener, and with a pleasant halo of resonance
provide acoustic glue. Mary Ann Hart’s solo is entirely clear,
and suits the setting nicely, blending or rising above the
cool instrumental textures in a natural and unforced fashion.
I compared this new recording to Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting
the London Sinfonietta and L.S. Chorus (Sony 1991). Female
soloist on this recording is Yvonne Kenny, whose singing
I have admired for many years. Salonen is brisker in tempi
in the Ricercar movements, so that the solo lines
become more declamatory. He is slower in the Lyke-Wake
Dirge movements, and the character of his performance
does seem to relate more to The Rake’s Progress, to
which this piece was a kind of continuation – Stravinsky
having a strong urge to use another English language text
after completing his only opera, this time without the dramatic
context. Craft’s soloists have a softer-voiced character,
and the whole thing is less pungent by comparison, emphasising
the lyrical nature of the music and making it milder and
easier to swallow – its 24 cyclical minutes being a fairly
long ‘sit’ by comparison with some of Stravinsky’s other
works. This is not to say that the performance is without
drama, and the penultimate Westron Wind movement is
as urgent as one could wish.

The
cantata Babel was composed as one part of a seven-work
cycle by different composers, commissioned by Nathaniel Shilkret,
himself a composer. The spoken text is taken very well by
David Wilson-Johnson, more overtly dramatic than John Calicos,
the narrator on Stravinsky’s 1962 Toronto recording, but
never overly histrionic. The orchestra is on top form and
the choral entries are stunning, promising great things for
the Symphony of Psalms.

Expectations
have to be high for Robert Craft’s Symphony of Psalms,
and to a great extent they are realised. Taking Stravinsky
as comparison once again (the CBC Symphony Orchestra on Columbia-Sony)
it is hardly surprising that Craft employs similar tempi.
I rummaged around and forked out my Lorin Maazel/Bayerischen
Rundfunks recording (RCA 1998) in order to escape the grip
of the Stravinsky/Craft axis, and here you can hear how swifter,
less indulgent tempi can also work well – Stravinsky was
after all an elderly man when he made his recording. Maazel
shaves a good 30 seconds from the first movement, which in
a 3 minute piece is quite a hefty shift in proportion. I
have a feeling that Craft’s tempi would work beautifully
in an acoustic with just a little more elbow-room. Abbey
Road Studio I is a grand venue, but doesn’t ‘expand’ in quite
the way Craft’s approach would seem to demand. I seem to
remember Tilson Thomas’s LSO recording on Sony also having
been done there, and I ditched that version many moons ago.
Stiffer competition comes with one-time BBC Radio 3 top ‘Building
a Library’ choice, one from 1964 with the Czech Philharmonic
Chorus and Orchestra conducted by Karel Ančerl on Supraphon.
While the oboes seem to have vibrato on top of their vibrato
this recording does have maximum dramatic impact, cracking
playing and singing in general, and almost entirely convincing
pacing. Ančerl’s first two movements are swifter, and
he saves the timeless until the end, lingering over the last Laudate
Deo to beyond slowness and as a result coming in 24 seconds
over Craft in the finale.

Doubts
concerning Psalms v. Abbey Road aside the singing
and playing is top notch, and if you know and love the elderly
Stravinsky Columbia recording then you will love this new
one. Craft allows the music to speak for itself, much as
Stravinsky does, giving the players room to phrase and perform
expressively, but never over-pitching the solo lines and
spoiling the balance – which is no mean feat in the Symphony
of Psalms. The arching form of the second movement is
superbly sustained, its 7 minutes seeming like a gorgeous
eternity which continues into the final Psalm 150.
The finale builds well, but there are one or two moments
when you might have wished for just a little more forward
motion. Craft’s slowness is true to the proportions of the
interpretation as a whole, but with the preponderance of
low instruments (the score contains no upper strings) you
have to accept Craft’s vision completely or sometimes find
yourself struggling to advance inside a deep-sea diver’s
suit. With the beginning of the final, timeless Laudate Craft
seems entirely vindicated however – the religious ecstasy
being complete, as we are transported up that never-ending
staircase to heaven.

There
is no doubt about it, on previous experience and current
evidence, Naxos’ Robert Craft Collection will ultimately
stand alongside Stravinsky’s own ‘complete’ edition, enhancing,
complimenting and often improving on it as it goes – to ignore
it would seem to defy all reason.

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